US man given prison sentence for bot-farming music streams

thequietus.com
October 8, 2026
2 min read
58/100
Summary
A North Carolina man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for collecting millions in royalties from bot-farming streams of AI-generated songs. The US Justice Department announced the sentencing of 54-year-old Michael Smith (pictured above) in a press release yesterday (6 October). He was sentenced for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud having pleaded guilty in court in March of this...
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